Why 2013 Will Be the Defining Year for Pittsburgh Steelers’ Troy Polamalu

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I've seen some 49er games usually if they were the 4 oclock game of the week when the Steelers werent playing at the same time or playoff games. I always thought Lott was good. But he never stood out as the most memorable player on the team. Most of my 49ers memories were of Montana, Young, and Rice.

I've also never seen the 49ers live and I think it's nearly impossible to see most of what any DB is doing on tv unless they show a different angle on a replay. The first game I saw Troy live at Heinz was when I realized how special he is. I think seeing some players in person is the only way to appreciate how good a player someone is. If I had seen Lott live, maybe I'd have more of an appreciation, but I haven't.

Troy may not have Lott like stats, but I've never seen any player have Troy's type of impact on a game. The only thing we really have to judge most DBs is their highlights and stats because the broadcast focuses on the ball and unfortunately most of what a DB does isn't know by watching a game on tv.

I've seen some 49er games usually if they were the 4 oclock game of the week when the Steelers werent playing at the same time or playoff games. I always thought Lott was good. But he never stood out as the most memorable player on the team. Most of my 49ers memories were of Montana, Young, and Rice. I've also never seen the 49ers live and I think it's nearly impossible to see most of what any DB is doing on tv unless they show a different angle on a replay. The first game I saw Troy live at Heinz was when I realized how special he is. I think seeing some players in person is the only way to appreciate how good a player someone is. If I had seen Lott live, maybe I'd have more of an appreciation, but I haven't.

I hear ya

Troy may not have Lott like stats, but I've never seen any player have Troy's type of impact on a game. The only thing we really have to judge most DBs is their highlights and stats because the broadcast focuses on the ball and unfortunately most of what a DB does isn't know by watching a game on tv.

Flippy, "impact on the game" for a safety generally produce STATS. I guess a lockdown corner can be pretty invisible but a safety has more freedom to go to the action.

Interceptions- impact the game
Forced fumbles impact the game
Returns for touchdowns - impact the game
Separating a receiver from the ball- Impacts the game
Every single tackle impacts the game

I listed 5 DIFFERENT CATEGORIES and Lott bests TP in EVERY SINGLE QUANTIFIABLE WAY.

What has greater "impact" more total ints or fewer spectacular ones that we see over and over again?

Lott created TEN TURNOVERS in twenty playoff game. A turnover every other game. How does Troy have a greater impact than that? I mention stats because they matter. You cannot ignore them while saying Troy makes more of an impact.

Ditto with tackles. Troy makes an amazing backfield tackle 3 or 4 times a season.

Lott made more tackles.......and they LITERALLY made a greater "impact"

QuoteIn Super Bowl XXIII, Ickey Woods, the Bengals' powerful running back, found out just how hard a Ronnie Lott hit could be. Early on, Woods was running for big gains against the San Francisco defense. After the Bengals' first series, Lott came to the sidelines and announced, "Don't worry about Ickey, I'm going to put his fire out." According to Ray Rhodes, who coached San Francisco's secondary, Lott hit Woods with such force that "it just knocked Ickey's spark right out of him. The game turned right then because Ickey just didn't run with the same authority after that."

Lott literally, ended a star running backs desire to compete IN THE SUPERBOWL.

I love Polamalu but Lott would get my vote as better. I think Troy gets overhyped a bit because of the hair and the way he moves all over the defense---many time taking him out of position to make plays. Lott was a much better tackler than Troy could ever hope to be and he could generate more turnovers (double the career INTs).

Playing Fantasy Football does not qualify you to be the in the front office or on the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are professionals and you are not!

Interceptions- impact the game
Forced fumbles impact the game
Returns for touchdowns - impact the game
Separating a receiver from the ball- Impacts the game
Every single tackle impacts the game

I listed 5 DIFFERENT CATEGORIES and Lott bests TP in EVERY SINGLE QUANTIFIABLE WAY.

Troy has 4 TDs in 114 starts to Lott's 5 TDs in 189, so Troy is on pace in one of the categories to surpass Lott. Total tackles for Troy of 648 to Lott's 1146 is nearly identical with Troy projected to be at 1174 in 189 games. Troy's on a 50 INT pace to Lott's 62. Not to bad considering 23 of Lott's INTs came when he played CB.

The 5th category of pass defenses wasn't tracked in Lott's era, so that's not a stat we can compare.

Another category in Troy's favor is sacks. He's at 10 to Lott's 8.5 over his career. I'm sure Troy also has more QB pressures and probably has a better pace of tackles for loss which are 2 more impact categories I can't verify.

Another thing to consider is these 2 guys didn't play the same position for very long. Lott played 5 years at LCB, 7 years at FS., and 2 at SS whereas Troy has played SS his entire career.

Another thing to factor in all of this is the rest of the defensive units. Troy doesn't have to make as many tackles because he's been surrounded by great players throughout his career. Who else did Lott play with? I remember Charles Haley being dominant around that time, but can't think of any others that stick out off the top of my head? As a last line of defense, you get stats when your teammates in front of you don't make plays. Lott may have had a lot more opportunities given the quality of the unit he played on.

Both guys have their pluses and minuses, but I'm not sure it's as clear one is better than the other. The only thing Lott has for certain is more games at this point. The stat rate is fairly close if Troy ends up playing as many games.

Troy has 4 TDs in 114 starts to Lott's 5 TDs in 189, so Troy is on pace in one of the categories to surpass Lott. Total tackles for Troy of 648 to Lott's 1146 is nearly identical with Troy projected to be at 1174 in 189 games. Troy's on a 50 INT pace to Lott's 62. Not to bad considering 23 of Lott's INTs came when he played CB.

The 5th category of pass defenses wasn't tracked in Lott's era, so that's not a stat we can compare.

Another category in Troy's favor is sacks. He's at 10 to Lott's 8.5 over his career. I'm sure Troy also has more QB pressures and probably has a better pace of tackles for loss which are 2 more impact categories I can't verify.

Another thing to consider is these 2 guys didn't play the same position for very long. Lott played 5 years at LCB, 7 years at FS., and 2 at SS whereas Troy has played SS his entire career.

Another thing to factor in all of this is the rest of the defensive units. Troy doesn't have to make as many tackles because he's been surrounded by great players throughout his career. Who else did Lott play with? I remember Charles Haley being dominant around that time, but can't think of any others that stick out off the top of my head? As a last line of defense, you get stats when your teammates in front of you don't make plays. Lott may have had a lot more opportunities given the quality of the unit he played on.

Both guys have their pluses and minuses, but I'm not sure it's as clear one is better than the other. The only thing Lott has for certain is more games at this point. The stat rate is fairly close if Troy ends up playing as many games.

Lott also had his 63 INTs in an era of much less passing and Troy will never reach 50 INTs. He won't be healthy and on the field enough to even get close. I'd be surprised if he gets 40.

Lott's durability in a much more physical era just totally tips the scales in his favor when comparing to Troy.

Playing Fantasy Football does not qualify you to be the in the front office or on the coaching staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are professionals and you are not!

Lott also had his 63 INTs in an era of much less passing and Troy will never reach 50 INTs. He won't be healthy and on the field enough to even get close. I'd be surprised if he gets 40.

Lott's durability in a much more physical era just totally tips the scales in his favor when comparing to Troy.

You do realize they play 2 different positions? Lott played a lot more in coverage at FS/CB while Troy spent more time in the box at SS. And at the pace he's on, if he does get to 50 INTs, he'd only be the second SS to reach 50 INTs in his career. The other being Donnie Shell. All the top guys in terms of INTs are FSs and CBs. It's crazy to compare a SS's INT numbers to a FS/CB.

Re: Lott's durability, he only played 16 games in 5 out of his 14 years in the league. And surprisingly his best health was at the end of his career. The less durable Troy has played 16 games 4 out of 9 years.

Although, I'm sure some would argue that Ronnie would have had his calf amputated if it was a problem cause he was so tough